Gundam: Changing the World Even with a Mass-Produced Unit

Chapter 3: Visitors from Another World, Squad Leader of the Grunts

Eli originally wasn't supposed to be here.

The so-called Gundam and the Universal Century should have been nothing more than concepts from science fiction works to him.

But while on a trip to Japan, wandering around the Gundam Base and taking a photo with the Unicorn Gundam statue, the statue inexplicably collapsed and fell on top of Eli.

When he woke up, Eli had become a member of the Federation garrison on Iffish Island, a pilot of the Saberfish fighter.

What happened after that, everyone knows well.

Having narrowly escaped the hellish battlefield engulfed in poisonous gas, Eli managed to down a Zaku using his Saberfish, earning himself a spot as one of the Federation's first MS pilots.

Due to his East Asian heritage, he was assigned to the Southeast Asian front.

"Karen, I heard the leader of the 08th team is already on the way?"

Returning to the maintenance area, Eli parked his Ground Gundam in the 06 MS Team's section and asked Karen.

Notably, in the 08 MS Team's hangar where Karen was stationed, aside from the machine Karen had just parked, there were also two other Ground Gundams, neatly covered with camouflage cloth and in pristine condition.

In contrast, the 06 MS Team's hangar only had Eli's Gundam intact, while the other two were already stripped of their outer armor.

This was because Eli's teammates had made serious operational errors during a recent battle, resulting in two Ground Gundams being severely damaged. Their pilots had been sent to the rear hospitals due to critical injuries and were rumored to be discharged soon.

This was also the reason Eli ended up cooperating with Karen.

"Yeah, apparently he took down a Zaku using a Ball while en route. What a remarkable guy."

Karen swung the wrench in her hand as she spoke to Eli.

"And what about you? Still no news about replacement personnel?"

"Don't even bring it up. Captain Kojima said the entire front line is stretched thin. The only reason you're getting full staffing is because you still have two operational MS units. I've got nothing to use over here."

Eli shook his head slightly.

"Hey, old man! Can't you get me a usable Gundam ready?"

Eli then yelled toward the warehouse below, where an old man was drinking.

That was Jidan Nickard, the commander of the supply unit for the base and someone who had close ties with the maintenance crew.

"I already told you, these two machines can't be repaired. They can only be stripped for parts."

Nickard waved his liquor flask impatiently before downing its contents in one gulp.

Eli had already expected this outcome, so he didn't argue further.

Instead, he continued overseeing the maintenance crew as they stripped parts from the two damaged Ground Gundams to replace worn components on his own machine.

In this situation, pragmatism came first.

…

"Ensign Amada Shiro, reporting with the commission for the 08 MS Team!"

Before long, someone familiar to Eli arrived at the field base.

Amada Shiro, the protagonist of the 08th MS Team anime, the pure-hearted warrior, and the best beam saber user.

It wasn't because Eli had a particularly sharp memory. Instead, as Eli looked at Shiro in the crowd, a virtual interface appeared before his eyes, marking Shiro's name and label.

This was likely the so-called "system."

However, the system only had this one function: identifying people from reality with certainty.

After all, real people looked significantly different from their animated counterparts.

As for Eli's long-awaited system shop and point allocations, none of those existed.

If Eli looked at himself, he could see his own name too.

The difference was that there was an additional tag beside Eli's name:

"Squad Leader of the Grunts"

"When piloting mass-produced units, piloting skill increases by 30%, and Newtype abilities increase by 25%."

Thanks to this, Eli was able to develop a considerable level of MS combat skill at a time when the Federation had yet to fully roll out MS units.

The enhancement to his Newtype abilities significantly improved his survival rate on the battlefield.

However, despite the system's boosts, Eli couldn't sense intricate thoughts or emotions from others—he couldn't even detect their feelings.

This suggested that even if Eli was a Newtype, he was probably no better than the earliest version of Char.

"…Ensign Eli, Ensign Eli!"

Kojima's voice finally pulled Eli out of his thoughts.

Snapping back to reality, Eli pushed through the crowd, saluted, and stood at attention before Kojima.

"Present!"

Kojima picked up a cup and drank some water.

"Unfortunately, the request for reinforcements for the 06 MS Team has been denied. But I can't rest easy letting you fight alone."

Kojima's concerns weren't unfounded.

Although Eli currently held the highest kill count in Kojima's unit and was a veritable ace, solo combat still carried a high mortality risk—and that would greatly affect overall morale.

"Ensign Amada, I remember you're also from Side 2, correct?"

Kojima sipped his water and asked Amada Shiro.

"Ah, yes…"

Shiro stood at attention as he answered, but his eyes couldn't help but drift toward Eli standing beside him.

"The word 'also'…"

That one word sparked a hint of camaraderie in Shiro's heart.

"I see… Well then, the 06 MS Team will merge with the 08 MS Team to form a single unit for joint operations. As for command… Eli, how about you follow Ensign Amada's orders? Of course, when it comes to tactical decisions, Ensign Amada, I also ask you to seriously consider Eli's input. He's our ace here, after all."

"No problem!"

Eli and Shiro both saluted again and responded in unison to Kojima's order.

With that, this unique operational arrangement was finalized.

"There's a secret Zeon factory somewhere in this area. I hope you can locate and destroy it."

Finally, Kojima reiterated the Southeast Asian front's primary objective before dismissing the meeting.

"Hey, be careful, Eli. That guy's the 'Grim Reaper Sanders.'"

"Yeah, I heard he's always the last one standing when his team gets wiped out."

As the two teams dispersed back into the crowd, someone whispered to Eli.

But it wasn't really a whisper—everyone nearby could clearly hear it.

Eli turned to look and saw that it was a member of the 07 MS Team who had thrown fruit at him earlier.

Eli smiled.

"Relax, I don't believe in stuff like that. Why don't you try having a little faith in my skills instead?"

He waved them off and followed Shiro to the hangar.

"Let's reintroduce ourselves. I'm Amada Shiro, from Side 2. I look forward to working with you."

Standing in front of the 08 MS Team's number one unit, Shiro extended his right hand.

"I'm from Iffish Island. I look forward to working with you too."

Eli naturally didn't make things difficult for Shiro and tightly grasped his hand.

"Iffish Island…"

Shiro remembered the human hell he had witnessed when he entered Iffish Island as part of the Federation's garrison during a rescue operation.

Concern clouded his face.

"I'll drive the Zeon forces out—every last one of them."

Eli also recalled the events of that time.

Even though he had only just arrived in this world back then, inheriting the memories of this body naturally filled him with righteous anger at what Zeon had done on Iffish Island.

Shiro opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Eli's declaration sounded eerily familiar to him.

Right—he had once said the same thing not long ago.

But why now could he not echo Eli's words?